348 Mr A. D. Webster on the 



The conclusions naturally arrived at are, that this orchid 

 is more frequently self tlian cross-fertilised, but when the 

 small production of seed is taken into account, very 

 imperfectly by either method. 



2. That, altliough visited by insects, cross-fertilisation 

 seldom takes place, is proved by the following observa- 

 tions : — Amongst insects of sufficient size to remove the 

 pollinia that I have seen visiting the flowers of this Epi- 

 2Jactis, I may mention the red-tailed humble bee and 

 our common wasp, the latter, however, but very rarely. 

 On the other hand, the red-tailed humble bee visits the 

 flowers of this plant frequently, but, owiug to its peculiar 

 method of sipping the nectar without entering the 

 flower, never removes the pollinia. On August 21, 1885, 

 being in a wood where beds of this plant were in full flower, 

 I saw the above bee enter several flowers on two different 

 plants growing side by side, without in any case remov- 

 ing the pollinia. On the 24th of the same month, 

 and in the same wood, I saw a red-tailed humble bee visit 

 successively no less than sixteen flowers on a spike of this 

 Epipactis without removing any of the pollinia. In this 

 case the spike of flowers was so dense that the bee 

 crawled from one to the other in a spiral fashion from 

 bottom to top without once bringing its head or proboscis 

 in contact with the viscid disc at the base of the pollinia. 

 After sucking the nectar from the last flower, it flew ofi" 

 for a few yards, but immediately returned and revisited 

 three of the same flowers, but this time in a half discon- 

 tented fashion, as if striving to improve on work that had 

 been already well done. Again, on the 26th of the same 

 month, I saw several visit the flowers of this plant (one 

 visited most of the flowers on seven plants in succession) 

 without removing the pollen, although, being near, I 

 noticed them visit numerous flowers that contained the 

 pollen masses. The bees hung on the distal portion of 

 the labellum and inserted their long proboscis without the 

 head coming in contact with the viscid disc. The 

 evening was lovely, and I spent an hour watching 

 the plants, but during that time, although wasps were 

 flying about in number, not one visited a flower. (This 

 certainly was the opposite of what I expected, as several 



